Questions---------------------------------------------------Guiding Questions To Help the Reader Fallow Flow Through the Page
Story of Swing:---------------------------------------------The Story Of How Swing Came to Be and How It Went Away
-How it all began...
-In its height...
-The Fall...
-Associations------------------------------------------------People who are associated with Swing Music
Events of the 1930's and 1940's-----------------------Events of the 1930's and 1940's
-1930's
-1940's
Census Information----------------------------------------Information taken from the US census website
-1930's
--Domestic
--Economic
--Government
-1940's
--Domestic
--Economic
--Government
-Explaining the Census----------------------------------Explaining how the census info. relates to African American history.
Music Samples---------------------------------------------Samples of swing songs that were incredibly popular during their time periods
-Take the "A" train
-Sing, Sing, Sing
Videos---------------------------------------------------------Interesting Videos about Swing
-Documentary on swing
-Modern People Dancing
Photo Album
Bibliography
Special Thanks
Questions:
Use these two questions to help guide you as you read on and learn about swing music.
How did African Americans play a role in the making of swing music?
How did the time period affect swing music, when was it at the top of popularity, and when did it die down?
Story of Swing:
How It All Began...
Swing music is a genre of music that branches off of Jazz music. It came into popularity in the dark days of the depression in the 1930's and 1940's. Although it became popular in the 1930's the dance moves that were associated with swing music goes as far back as Africans and African Americans working in fields looking for fun things to do. African Movement Vocab, described dance that involved fluend movement of a body parts such as hips, torso, shoulders, and legs. Slaves usually danced together to lighten their spirits and have fun, in other words bonding and forming a community in these domestic situations.
Fig 1. Charles Lindbergh, The Creater of the Lindy Hop
In Its Height...
Swing dance and music reappeared as front page popularity for thousands of people in 1930, on the crowded city streets of Harlem, New York. The dance that is most associated with swing was called the Lindy Hop named after Charles Limburg in 1920. During the Swing dance period in the 30's and 40's the Lindy Hop was so popular it could be seen basically ever club, bar, and ball room that played swing music. over the years it evolved changing names and movements constantly changing and evolving, other names included the jitterbug, the swing, the jive, and the shag. Over the years as jazz and swing spread across the country in popularity the Jazz capital was in New York with its "White House" The Savoy ball theater between 140th to 141st. street in Harlem. The Savoy Was the birthplace of the Lindy Hop and was very popular. So many people came that the floors had to be replaced ever three years from people constantly stepping on it with dancing shoes. The Savoy charged .50 cents and .75 cents on Sundays, and with its huge popularity brought some economic relief to the economically distraught New York during the depression.
As swing grew not only did the dance grow, but also the language of playing swing music. During the early 1900's (30's and 40's) the time period was also called the "Big Band Era". The big band era was just as the title says, there were lots of big bands. Without the use of modern microphones many bands increased their size sometimes up to sixteen people to make the sound louder in the the crowded clubs and bars. Sometimes placed like the Savoy hired multiple bands so that the music never stopped. Swing bands included a veriety of instruments such as brass, woodwinds, trombones, saxophones, drums, and maybe a bass or two. Another attraction swing and jazz had were their complex cords, syncopated rhythms. Finally the cherry on top of jazz music were the trumpets. Trumps loud and strong sounds allowed them to be heard very well, in addition the were allowed the option of doing solos or doing improve allowing the music to evolve and be different each time. Out side of the ballroom and clubs the swing was broadcast throughout the media. Radio shows such as "Lets Dance" and MTV like TV programs such as the "Soundies" had swing and jazz music playing in almost every house in America.
The Fall...
Swing music eventually left popular culture fairly fast over about two years, due to many reasons. The main reason was World War two. This is because of the draft. Because of the United State's need for solders in World War two's many of the people that participated in the huge bands were forced to enter the army, which caused a lack of musician in order to keep enough people to fill the big bands that were so popular. Another reason was a strike by music unions keeping many of the bands silent for up to 2 and 1/2 years. While swing and jazz were silenced, individual singers took their place because they didn't have companies to follow and thus were not part of the strike. A third reason was the Cabaret Tax of 1941 which make clubs in Texas pay 30% of their ticket sales in taxes, meaning that clubs there couldn't hire huge bands anymore. A fourth reason, was a new sound, bebop and blues, were growing. Since many of the big bands could no longer play many of the stars went solo. Many of which were trumpeters and saxophonists. Which was part of the new sounds, Jazz. The new jazz was so different from the old type (faster and just generally new). The final nail in the coffin was the same thing that brought it life, The depression. Although swing brought freedom from the economic stress of the depression, after the depression swing music simply brought back memories of such hard times. Swing remained out of the spotlight for another fifty years till it came back in the 1990's.
Associations
Billy May-
Billy May (1916-2004) was one of many musician that acquired fame through the upraising of swing music. Swing had not started when he was born but at a young age he learned the tuba and the trumpet (both very important swing instruments). May made his first professional appearance as a member of Gene Olsen's Polish-American orchestra in 1933. Five years later he got a job in the Charlie Barnet Band. Over the years he joined many other bands (ex. Glenn Miller Band and Hal McIntyre big Band). Each band he was in succeeded well. A couple of examples of hit songs were "Take the 'A' Train" (1941) and "What a Little Moon Light Can Do" (1960)
Glenn Miller-
(Alton) Glenn Miller (1904-1944) was a Jazz musician who made his own way in the world of music. Although he was a jazz musician many of his songs became hits in the swing category (the two were very close). In 1935 he started recording his voice for Columbia. That same year he made a instrumental called "solo hop" that hit the top ten of that year. In 1937 he formed his own traveling group but it turned out unsuccessful. Later he became the start of his own "big band" and started spitting out hits one after the other. Some of their hits were "When You Wish Upon a star" (1940) and "In the Mood" (1940).
Events of the 1930's and 1940's
1930's:
Many things were going on during the 1930s. The United States population was roughly 132 million American's strong (nine-point-seven percent was black). The 1930's was the end of the great migration where 1.5 million blacks moved from the south to the north in hopes of escaping the prejudice south. Many of them moved to norther cities such as Chicago and New York City. However even though racial prejudice wasn't as bad as it was in the south, it still existed in the north. Many blacks were forced to live in separate black communities. The biggest of which was Harlem. Harlem's has a black population of ninety-eight percent or (233,000). Also 1930 was the beginning of "The Great Depression"(TGD). During this time many American's couldn't find jobs and many businesses went bankrupt. Unemployment was above 10 percent until World War 2 in 1939. During TGD stocks fell 89% from the original of 311.90$. In addition in the 1930's there was the dust bowl which crippled the agricultural life of many with an average of two inches of rain a year. Finally during the 1940's the republican party had control in the house of representatives, the senate and presidency.
1940's:
Fig 2.Rosie the Riveter, representing the womens work force during WW2
In the 1940's the main focus of the world was on World War Two. During World War two (even before the US entered it) many Jews and other europeans were leaving Europe and fleeing from the Nazi's by going to America. Amoung them scientists, painters, and musicians are just a few examples of gifts refugees. However while in American a big change was happening two. Before America was involved in World War Two their goods were wanted by both sides bring in enough revenue to bring the country out of the depression. Secondly Because of the lack of white males (because they were fighting) any woman and blacks were used to make up for the labor. As the war drew on the need for man power in the army increased and so that blacks were allowed to Fight in the military. A big change for African American support came after the war. Many of the men that fought had seen the world outside of the US. Destroying the idea of a innocent farm life, but along with it the idea that humans were humans and that they had all just faught for life and death and not over race. Other accurances that relate to the war were the baby boom, men returning to the US after fighting looking to have fun with their wives. An increase of civil rights amoung the public sky rocketed due to the results of Hitlers Holocost. Huge events that were not related to the war were inventions and advancements in entertainment and music. The television first appeared at the World Fair in 1939 and hot singers of be-bop, blues, and jazz, would soon rock the decade to come.
Census Information
-1930
--Domestic:
From the results of the 1930's census the total population was 122,775,046 people. Out of the first 48 states New York was the most populated (12,643,000). The second and third states were Pennsylvania (9,654,000) and Illinois (7,659,000). The lowest populated state was Nevada with a population of 91,000.
--Economic:
For the 1930's census 48,829,920 total people working with 38,077,304 men and 10,752,116 women. Those then can be broken down to races. For native (born in America) white males its 27,511,302 and 7,661,598 females. For foreign born white males were 6,255,071 and for females 1,156,056. For blacks it was 3,662,893 to 1,840,642 for males to females. Finally other races that we recorded were 647,078 males and 93,910 females. The recorded agriculture work force in 1930 was 10,483,917 people while 14,341,372 people were working in the manufacturing industries. Other jobs that lots of people did was mining, fishing, and foresting.
--Government
The US government has changed any times over the years and most of those ways are recorded in the US census it self. The US census is handed out every 10 years. Jobs, population, sex, and race are a few things that are recorded in a cencus. But over the years the census has changed to accommodate the changing country. The 1930 census was the basic same census as the ones before it (1920' and 1910). Asking questions such as "How many people live in the house hold?", "Are you employed?", and "What is your sex?". But for the 1930's sencus there was a huge difference about race. This time Mulatto (mix of black and white descent) was no longer an option. Anyone with white and black lineage was black. At this time there would seem to be a scale for biracial persons, whites, native american, then black. If someone was white and native American then they would be classified as native American. If one was native American and black they would be considered as black. In addition this was the first time Mexican was added as an option for those who were born in Mexico, not necessarily of Mexican descent.
-1940
--Domestic:
During the 190's the total population of the US was 131,669,275. The states with the highest populations were New York (13,479,142), Pennsylvania (9,900,180), and Illinois (7,879,241). The Lowest was Nevada with a population of 91,058.
Fig 3. Graph showing the movement of workers from rural to urban
--Economic
From the 1940's Census 52,789,499 people are in the labor force 39,481,880 males and 12,540,278 females.
17,632,240 people participate in farm work and agriculture. 4,326,469 experienced people were seeking work (meaning that they have already been working). In addition the majority of people were moving to the cities causing a decrease in agricultural labor.
--Government
The 1940's census had to be changed from the 1930's census because of the great depression. The great depression had caused many to go bankrupt or homeless. To collect data on the effect of the great depression the census included a statistical sample (five percent of the country), asking them sixteen additional questions on housing and money.
- Explaining the Census
Many things can be determined from the information gathered, comparing two different census. Knowing the domestic information on where people are living is important because we can grasp how information is moving. For example if a new type of technology comes out people in the city might hear about it first because the big city advertisements. While those in the country, information will have to seep down from the city to them. Also The population tells readers about intercontinental migration. During the 1920's there was a period called the great migration, it was coming to a close in the 1930's. Thousands of freed African Americans went to the north to escape the prejudice of the south (many slaves moved to key cities such as Harlem NY, Chicago IL, and Philadelphia PA) . This is shown in the census because the three most populated states are in the north. Also during this time America was still expanding into the west which explains why western states such as Nevada have a low population. Economic information is important because it says the wealth of America. During the 1930s there was the great depression that ruined big cities and the dust bowl that ruined agricultural life. At the beginning of The Great Depression, when people started losing jobs the first to go were blacks. So by comparing these one can see the difference and the impact that The Great Depression had on the population. By compairing the goverment census's you can notice how the country I changing (specifically, racially). For the 1930 census the option of biracial black and white people was no longer and option, people with black in them were registered as full black. In addition with the movement west Americans encountered different races including Mexicans, which they included in the census for the first time.
Music Samples
Video Fig. 1
Name: Take the "A" Train
Artist: Duke Ellington
Date:1941
Genre: Swing
Analysis: This is a great example of what swing music was like. It shows the freedom of the genre (like many other swing songs) through the power of the trumpet that is playing on its own in the polyphonic song. In this song there is song there is a lot of syncopation. The cymbals in the background keep the beat and almost ever instrumental section goes off of the beat in its own way.
Video Fig. 2
Name:Sing, Sing, Sing
Artist: Benny Goodman & His orchestra.
Date:1937
Genre:Swing
Analysis: This song has many aspects that one would find enjoyable and that define it as swing music. One of which is the syncopation and polytheism. The biggest comparison is the clarinet and the drums in the background which is a example of polyphonic rhythm. The clarinet is providing a perfect example of syncopation as well as at the end when the whole band stands up and starts playing.
Videos
Video Fig. 3, A Documentary on swing
Video Fig. 4 Modern People dancing and teaching the Lindy-Hop
Photo Album
Fig. 4 52nd Street where multiple swing bands are being advertised
Fig. 5 Black Saxaphone player is taking a break
Fig. 6 African American Pair are doing the Lindy Hop
Fig. 7 People infront of the Famous Swing Dance Hall "Savoy"
Fig. 8 The Jimmie Lunceford big band in the late 1930s. At far left is Sy Oliver
Table of Content:
Questions---------------------------------------------------Guiding Questions To Help the Reader Fallow Flow Through the PageStory of Swing:---------------------------------------------The Story Of How Swing Came to Be and How It Went Away
-How it all began...
-In its height...
-The Fall...
-Associations------------------------------------------------People who are associated with Swing Music
Events of the 1930's and 1940's-----------------------Events of the 1930's and 1940's
-1930's
-1940's
Census Information----------------------------------------Information taken from the US census website
-1930's
--Domestic
--Economic
--Government
-1940's
--Domestic
--Economic
--Government
-Explaining the Census----------------------------------Explaining how the census info. relates to African American history.
Music Samples---------------------------------------------Samples of swing songs that were incredibly popular during their time periods
-Take the "A" train
-Sing, Sing, Sing
Videos---------------------------------------------------------Interesting Videos about Swing
-Documentary on swing
-Modern People Dancing
Photo Album
Bibliography
Special Thanks
Questions:
Use these two questions to help guide you as you read on and learn about swing music.How did African Americans play a role in the making of swing music?
How did the time period affect swing music, when was it at the top of popularity, and when did it die down?
Story of Swing:
How It All Began...
Swing music is a genre of music that branches off of Jazz music. It came into popularity in the dark days of the depression in the 1930's and 1940's. Although it became popular in the 1930's the dance moves that were associated with swing music goes as far back as Africans and African Americans working in fields looking for fun things to do. African Movement Vocab, described dance that involved fluend movement of a body parts such as hips, torso, shoulders, and legs. Slaves usually danced together to lighten their spirits and have fun, in other words bonding and forming a community in these domestic situations.As swing grew not only did the dance grow, but also the language of playing swing music. During the early 1900's (30's and 40's) the time period was also called the "Big Band Era". The big band era was just as the title says, there were lots of big bands. Without the use of modern microphones many bands increased their size sometimes up to sixteen people to make the sound louder in the the crowded clubs and bars. Sometimes placed like the Savoy hired multiple bands so that the music never stopped. Swing bands included a veriety of instruments such as brass, woodwinds, trombones, saxophones, drums, and maybe a bass or two. Another attraction swing and jazz had were their complex cords, syncopated rhythms. Finally the cherry on top of jazz music were the trumpets. Trumps loud and strong sounds allowed them to be heard very well, in addition the were allowed the option of doing solos or doing improve allowing the music to evolve and be different each time. Out side of the ballroom and clubs the swing was broadcast throughout the media. Radio shows such as "Lets Dance" and MTV like TV programs such as the "Soundies" had swing and jazz music playing in almost every house in America.
The Fall...
Swing music eventually left popular culture fairly fast over about two years, due to many reasons. The main reason was World War two. This is because of the draft. Because of the United State's need for solders in World War two's many of the people that participated in the huge bands were forced to enter the army, which caused a lack of musician in order to keep enough people to fill the big bands that were so popular. Another reason was a strike by music unions keeping many of the bands silent for up to 2 and 1/2 years. While swing and jazz were silenced, individual singers took their place because they didn't have companies to follow and thus were not part of the strike. A third reason was the Cabaret Tax of 1941 which make clubs in Texas pay 30% of their ticket sales in taxes, meaning that clubs there couldn't hire huge bands anymore. A fourth reason, was a new sound, bebop and blues, were growing. Since many of the big bands could no longer play many of the stars went solo. Many of which were trumpeters and saxophonists. Which was part of the new sounds, Jazz. The new jazz was so different from the old type (faster and just generally new). The final nail in the coffin was the same thing that brought it life, The depression. Although swing brought freedom from the economic stress of the depression, after the depression swing music simply brought back memories of such hard times. Swing remained out of the spotlight for another fifty years till it came back in the 1990's.Associations
Billy May-Billy May (1916-2004) was one of many musician that acquired fame through the upraising of swing music. Swing had not started when he was born but at a young age he learned the tuba and the trumpet (both very important swing instruments). May made his first professional appearance as a member of Gene Olsen's Polish-American orchestra in 1933. Five years later he got a job in the Charlie Barnet Band. Over the years he joined many other bands (ex. Glenn Miller Band and Hal McIntyre big Band). Each band he was in succeeded well. A couple of examples of hit songs were "Take the 'A' Train" (1941) and "What a Little Moon Light Can Do" (1960)
Glenn Miller-
(Alton) Glenn Miller (1904-1944) was a Jazz musician who made his own way in the world of music. Although he was a jazz musician many of his songs became hits in the swing category (the two were very close). In 1935 he started recording his voice for Columbia. That same year he made a instrumental called "solo hop" that hit the top ten of that year. In 1937 he formed his own traveling group but it turned out unsuccessful. Later he became the start of his own "big band" and started spitting out hits one after the other. Some of their hits were "When You Wish Upon a star" (1940) and "In the Mood" (1940).
Events of the 1930's and 1940's
1930's:
Many things were going on during the 1930s. The United States population was roughly 132 million American's strong (nine-point-seven percent was black). The 1930's was the end of the great migration where 1.5 million blacks moved from the south to the north in hopes of escaping the prejudice south. Many of them moved to norther cities such as Chicago and New York City. However even though racial prejudice wasn't as bad as it was in the south, it still existed in the north. Many blacks were forced to live in separate black communities. The biggest of which was Harlem. Harlem's has a black population of ninety-eight percent or (233,000). Also 1930 was the beginning of "The Great Depression"(TGD). During this time many American's couldn't find jobs and many businesses went bankrupt. Unemployment was above 10 percent until World War 2 in 1939. During TGD stocks fell 89% from the original of 311.90$. In addition in the 1930's there was the dust bowl which crippled the agricultural life of many with an average of two inches of rain a year. Finally during the 1940's the republican party had control in the house of representatives, the senate and presidency.1940's:
Census Information
-1930
--Domestic:
From the results of the 1930's census the total population was 122,775,046 people. Out of the first 48 states New York was the most populated (12,643,000). The second and third states were Pennsylvania (9,654,000) and Illinois (7,659,000). The lowest populated state was Nevada with a population of 91,000.--Economic:
For the 1930's census 48,829,920 total people working with 38,077,304 men and 10,752,116 women. Those then can be broken down to races. For native (born in America) white males its 27,511,302 and 7,661,598 females. For foreign born white males were 6,255,071 and for females 1,156,056. For blacks it was 3,662,893 to 1,840,642 for males to females. Finally other races that we recorded were 647,078 males and 93,910 females. The recorded agriculture work force in 1930 was 10,483,917 people while 14,341,372 people were working in the manufacturing industries. Other jobs that lots of people did was mining, fishing, and foresting.--Government
The US government has changed any times over the years and most of those ways are recorded in the US census it self. The US census is handed out every 10 years. Jobs, population, sex, and race are a few things that are recorded in a cencus. But over the years the census has changed to accommodate the changing country. The 1930 census was the basic same census as the ones before it (1920' and 1910). Asking questions such as "How many people live in the house hold?", "Are you employed?", and "What is your sex?". But for the 1930's sencus there was a huge difference about race. This time Mulatto (mix of black and white descent) was no longer an option. Anyone with white and black lineage was black. At this time there would seem to be a scale for biracial persons, whites, native american, then black. If someone was white and native American then they would be classified as native American. If one was native American and black they would be considered as black. In addition this was the first time Mexican was added as an option for those who were born in Mexico, not necessarily of Mexican descent.-1940
--Domestic:
During the 190's the total population of the US was 131,669,275. The states with the highest populations were New York (13,479,142), Pennsylvania (9,900,180), and Illinois (7,879,241). The Lowest was Nevada with a population of 91,058.--Economic
From the 1940's Census 52,789,499 people are in the labor force 39,481,880 males and 12,540,278 females.17,632,240 people participate in farm work and agriculture. 4,326,469 experienced people were seeking work (meaning that they have already been working). In addition the majority of people were moving to the cities causing a decrease in agricultural labor.
--Government
The 1940's census had to be changed from the 1930's census because of the great depression. The great depression had caused many to go bankrupt or homeless. To collect data on the effect of the great depression the census included a statistical sample (five percent of the country), asking them sixteen additional questions on housing and money.- Explaining the Census
Many things can be determined from the information gathered, comparing two different census. Knowing the domestic information on where people are living is important because we can grasp how information is moving. For example if a new type of technology comes out people in the city might hear about it first because the big city advertisements. While those in the country, information will have to seep down from the city to them. Also The population tells readers about intercontinental migration. During the 1920's there was a period called the great migration, it was coming to a close in the 1930's. Thousands of freed African Americans went to the north to escape the prejudice of the south (many slaves moved to key cities such as Harlem NY, Chicago IL, and Philadelphia PA) . This is shown in the census because the three most populated states are in the north. Also during this time America was still expanding into the west which explains why western states such as Nevada have a low population. Economic information is important because it says the wealth of America. During the 1930s there was the great depression that ruined big cities and the dust bowl that ruined agricultural life. At the beginning of The Great Depression, when people started losing jobs the first to go were blacks. So by comparing these one can see the difference and the impact that The Great Depression had on the population. By compairing the goverment census's you can notice how the country I changing (specifically, racially). For the 1930 census the option of biracial black and white people was no longer and option, people with black in them were registered as full black. In addition with the movement west Americans encountered different races including Mexicans, which they included in the census for the first time.Music Samples
Video Fig. 1
Name: Take the "A" Train
Artist: Duke Ellington
Date:1941
Genre: Swing
Analysis: This is a great example of what swing music was like. It shows the freedom of the genre (like many other swing songs) through the power of the trumpet that is playing on its own in the polyphonic song. In this song there is song there is a lot of syncopation. The cymbals in the background keep the beat and almost ever instrumental section goes off of the beat in its own way.
Video Fig. 2
Name:Sing, Sing, Sing
Artist: Benny Goodman & His orchestra.
Date:1937
Genre:Swing
Analysis: This song has many aspects that one would find enjoyable and that define it as swing music. One of which is the syncopation and polytheism. The biggest comparison is the clarinet and the drums in the background which is a example of polyphonic rhythm. The clarinet is providing a perfect example of syncopation as well as at the end when the whole band stands up and starts playing.
Videos
Video Fig. 3, A Documentary on swing
Video Fig. 4 Modern People dancing and teaching the Lindy-Hop
Photo Album
Bibliography
" A Very, Very Brief History of Swing ." Youtube. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XokwbmKXXyo>.Goodwin, Sue. "American Culture History." kclibrary lonestar. Lonestar College , 1999. Web. 31 May 2010. <http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade40.html>.
"History Of Swing Music: African Influence." Savoy Style. N.p., 1999. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.savoystyle.com/african.html>.
http://www.census.gov/
Kato, Lisa. "Charlie Parker and the Rise of Bebop." www.theguitarshool.com. The guitar school, 1994. Web. 31 May 2010. <http://www.theguitarschool.com/CharlieParker.html>.
"Music of the Harlem Renaissance: Jazz." tcnj. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.tcnj.edu/~messmer2/musicharlemrenaissance.html>.
"Soundies: Jazz, Swing, and Bebop Legends in PBS Documentary ." Youtube. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeSlF2VDck8>.
" Swing Music Documentary ." Youtube. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9B44JUwr74>.
"The End of the swing era." Just The Swing. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.just-the-swing.com/his/swing-history/end-of-swing-era>.
"What Jazz has to do with it." Swing Music. Swing Music, 2007. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.swingmusic.net/>.
"1930s And 1940s Jazz Combos." Swing Music. SwingMusic.Net, 2007. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.swingmusic.net/Modern_Swing.html>.
Special Thanks/ Check Out Their Pages
Claire Elliot-SwingShamarlon Yates-Jazz
Jeff Perkins